Bill Gatton Memorial to Take Place June 16
LEXINGTON, Ky. (June 13, 2022) — The University of Kentucky will hold a memorial service for Carol Martin “Bill” Gatton at 11 a.m. Thursday, June 16. The event will be livestreamed via YouTube at this link: https://youtu.be/FNE4oh77J8Y and will remain available after the ceremony.
Gatton, a native of Muhlenberg County, Kentucky, died on April 18 at the age of 89. He graduated from UK in 1954 and owned several car dealerships, as well as interest in several real estate and banking ventures.
During his lifetime, Gatton donated more than $70 million to UK. He made the lead gifts toward the renovation and expansion of the Bill Gatton Student Center and the Gatton College of Business and Economics building. Earlier this year, Gatton gave $5 million to create scholarships for first-generation, medical and Gatton Academy students.
Gatton served on the UK Board of Trustees and was appointed as a lifetime honorary member by Gov. Steve Beshear in 2015.
“Bill Gatton was a Kentucky original. He was a son of our state. He believed deeply in the potential of this place and all of us as the inheritors and keepers of its promise,” UK President Capilouto said. “It is an incredible loss that we mourn, but an incredible legacy that we have been given the gift of celebrating and carrying forward.”
As the state’s flagship, land-grant institution, the University of Kentucky exists to advance the Commonwealth. We do that by preparing the next generation of leaders — placing students at the heart of everything we do — and transforming the lives of Kentuckians through education, research and creative work, service and health care. We pride ourselves on being a catalyst for breakthroughs and a force for healing, a place where ingenuity unfolds. It's all made possible by our people — visionaries, disruptors and pioneers — who make up 200 academic programs, a $476.5 million research and development enterprise and a world-class medical center, all on one campus.
In 2022, UK was ranked by Forbes as one of the “Best Employers for New Grads” and named a “Diversity Champion” by INSIGHT into Diversity, a testament to our commitment to advance Kentucky and create a community of belonging for everyone. While our mission looks different in many ways than it did in 1865, the vision of service to our Commonwealth and the world remains the same. We are the University for Kentucky.